how much power


I do not have a good grip on amps. But i keep hearing about more power and more current !

I don't listen to music very loud... may be 75db at the most. The roomsize is 11 x 15. My speakers are Vienna Acoustics, Haydn Grand (4 ohm). Receiver is Denon 3311ci.

My question is really if i need need anything more than say 50 watts per channel ? Why ?

roxito

Showing 3 responses by lacee

It's not the amount of power but the quality of the power that matters.
You can find a lot of low watt amps that will better the sound of what you have.

It's been said, if the first few watts suck, why would you want more?

I find wattage highly over rated.

I went from 1000 watt mono blocks to a 2 watt amp and I never run out of power( 5 ohm, 90 db eff) or feel that it's underpowered.

There is as much sound in the room as before, and the bonus is that the sound improved with the lower watt amp.

I think your speakers are also not too power hungry, so don't limit your search to high power amps.
I wouldn't try to pull much of anything with the Camry.
That's not what it's made for.

What I am talking about is that you only need brute force muscle amps if you are using speakers that demand such types of amplification.

For most moderate sized rooms and at normal listening levels, the first couple of watts(if they are good ones) are all you are using most of the time.

Lots of ink's been spilled on the need for massive amounts of reserve power for the times you need it, but really unless it's needed for sustained time frames(not instantaneous) you would be surprised by how few watts you are using to achieve decent sound levels.

It shouldn't be news to anyone that over the years most of the better sounding amps have been in the under 50 watt range,including a lot of the Pass designed class A amps.

I remember the 25 watt original Levinsons as being the poster boys of the 25 watters.

That was all the power you needed to drive the Quad 57's.

Using too much power was not good for the old Quads.

As long as you don't push a low wattage solid state amp into clipping,you should be fine with any of the better class A solid state designs.

Lower wattage PP tube amps around 35 watts have also been known to drive most speakers to adequate listening levels.

Not everyone needs high power amps to drive their speakers.
I don't.
My Ref 3A Grand Veenas sound great with a 2 watt DecWare Zen Select amp.
They also sounded no better or worse when I was using a pair of mono block power amps of a 1000 watts.

Like everything, you only need what you need, and most folks think they need too much.

I also know you don't bring a slingshot to a gun fight.

But each can be just as deadly when used in the right circumstances, ask Goliath.
Sometimes there are exceptions to the audio rules.

My Ref 3A Grand Veena go down to 32 hz and my 2 watt SET amp delivers as much bass as my 1000 watt D amps did, and as much volume.

In fact I never have the Steelhead past 12 o'clock or the midway point.

The Grand Veena's crossovers (amp id directly linked to mid driver, tweeter, supper tweeter and woffers have crossover)are easy on my amp.

Here;s a ist of amps I auditioned in my system, before deciding what to purchase.
All amps drove the speakers well, didn't clip, and they all did the bass, to varying degress.

1961 Bell 18 watt tube push pull 4 6V6 tubes,
latest edition Mac 275,KT 88tubes, push pull,
Atmasphere S30-OTL,Grant Lumley -el34 push pull tube,
Art Audio Carissa, SET 845 tubes,
Pass labs Aleph 3-class A solid state
Red Draggon class D Leviathan mono blocks-1000 watts.

All the tube amps had a distinct sonic signature.
The Atmasphere and the Aleph had the best bass control.

The DecWare Zen Select-SET 2 watt, el 84 tube, was the purest of the lot, had no tube sonic signature, and did bass as well as any of the other amps.

I am more than pleased with the sound and dynamics this amp has driving my speakers.

After comparing it's sound with all the other amps, I found much to admire and nothing to fault,which should illustrate that you need to try amp/speaker combinations for yourself,and not rely on blanket audio statements and assumptions.

This is all the amp I need for my speakers and my taste in music runs from classical to jazz to rock.

There hasn't been a time on any type of music that I wished I had more power.

The only audio "truth" that I find applies, is that no amount of watts can improve the sound if the first few watts are not good.